It takes a lot to get banned from professional football!

Historically speaking it usually takes a grainy video of you doing something unsportsmanlike and/or extremely illegal off the field.

So, in that same spirit, let’s run deep into the end zone of this newsletter together and find out how crypto got kicked out of America’s most violent game!

Espresso Shots

☕️ SEC Cracks Down on Kraken 🐙 🚔

In a settlement announced Thursday, the crypto exchange Kraken agreed to shut down its staking program and pay a $30M fine.

Staking is the process whereby an individual investor agrees to lock up their crypto in exchange for token rewards from the blockchain. Kraken claimed those could be as high as 21%.

These programs have become increasingly popular in recent years, springing up on Binance, Gemini and Coinbase, among others.

The SEC is now claiming that staking programs have inherent risk to investors as individuals surrender control of their tokens and are then reliant on the platform.

In other words, investors are at risk of a situation like the one Gemini Earn & BlockFi Earn customers are now in: they locked up their crypto, and now they can’t get it back.

The SEC is now cracking down on these programs and Kraken was the first victim. All eyes are now turning to Coinbase to see if their staking program will be next.

While some are surprised by these actions, it’s only logical that the vampires at SEC would fear staking.

☕️ Crypto Earthquake Relief 🌎 🙏

A host of crypto companies have already pledged $9 million in relief since the Middle East was devastated by a magnitude 7.5 earthquake last Monday.

The major companies contributing include Binance, Tether, OKX, Bitfinex, and Kucoin. The Avalanche Foundation alone donated $1 million worth of AVAX, its native token.

“It is time to come together and show that crypto is a force for good and a sign of hope for all of us hurting,” said the executive director of the Avalanche Foundation.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao also released a press release regarding Binance’s humanitarian efforts in the region. Binance is airdropping $5 million worth of BNB to users in the area, stating, “it’s time to take care of users.”

While the region seems incredibly grateful for the donations, quake victims do tend to prefer stable coins.

☕️ Alameda Back From the Dead 🪦 ⚡️

Wallets linked to the bankrupt Alameda firm became active again on February 7th, resulting in the transfers of millions of dollars worth of FTT tokens.

As all actions on the blockchain are relatively easy to track, we've seen the wallets purchase millions in FTT token before taking out a loan position.

Many are speculating that all of this action was likely overseen by FTX’s current CEO, John Ray III, in order to consolidate assets and pay off FTX’s massive debts.

But if Alameda can bring its wallets back to life, we would like our childhood dog, Bonzo, resurrected for one last game of fetch.

Spilling the Beans

Why the Super Bowl Banned Crypto Ads 😬 🏈

If you watched last year’s Super Bowl, you no doubt noticed the presence of a very specific type of advertisement: Doritos.

It seems like every year they find a new wacky way to market this “nacho” flavored chip that Americans are going to buy anyway.

It’s not a new development, it’s not like Super Bowl viewers need to be reminded that Doritos are out there. We all go to go to the store, we all see Doritos. But we digress.

We’re not here to talk about Doritos. We’re here to talk about crypto.

And last year, crypto made quite a splash at the Super Bowl. Who could forget such industry favorites as Coinbase or Crypto.com?

And of course, there was that incredibly overlong Larry David ad for none other than FTX.

That one’s aged about as well as a tub of yogurt in the trunk of a hot car.

It seems like everybody in crypto wanted a Super Bowl ad spot. Well, everyone except Binance.

Changpeng Zhao was actually on Twitter last summer, weirdly proud of Binance’s lack of a Super Bowl Ad, but still admitting how hard it was to pass up.

But last year’s Super Bowl, dubbed “The Crypto Bowl” by some, may have been the zenith of crypto advertising. At least for a while.

To be fair, crypto was in a wildly different place at the time of 2022’s Superbowl. Bitcoin was trading around $42,000 and… a lot hadn’t happened yet.

We won’t say FTX’s implosion and the billions lost is the only reason there won’t be crypto ads in this year’s game, but it’s safe to say it’s among the biggest ones.

While the fallout from that cataclysmic event has certainly had a major impact on crypto investors, it’s also had a surprising impact on crypto-spokespeople.

Tom Brady, Matt Damon, Larry David, Shaq, and Steph Curry have all been absolutely skewered by the press and social media for their role in crypto advertisements.

But in case that wasn’t enough, a handful of them have also been sued in class action lawsuits for portraying FTX as a safe and reliable platform.

The NFL is no stranger to controversy and so it seems like this year they opted for a blanket ban to be safe. Despite that ban, it does look like some crypto mentions may sneak in..

A planned ad for Turbotax featuring Jason Sudeikis will feature a crypto trader as one of its prospective users. Meanwhile Limit Break, a web3 game also intends to be featured.

Limit Break has admitted they were probably classified as a gaming ad, and that’s how they were able to squeeze through.

So it seems like after last year’s shenanigans, crypto will likely not be mentioned too much, but we hope you’ll join us in drinking every time it comes up anyway. Go football!

Meme of the Day

Fine! Whatever! I don't want to be in a Super Bowl commercial anyway!

Crypto 101

A Cold Wallet: This is a physical piece of hardware that allows you to store your crypto safely offline. They are also often referred to as hardware wallets.

When you hear “self-custody” in crypto, people are referring to crypto wallets. But not all crypto wallets are created equally! Cold wallets are the safest way to store your crypto.

Access is managed through a physical USB-like device and software on your computer. Your device generates a private key for your wallet and then you program a PIN for the device.

Hot wallets function much the same as Cold Wallets, with the principal difference being that Hot wallets connect directly to the internet and have less security features.

The Last Sip

Here are a couple types of ads that we wish would get banned from the Super Bowl:

• Monochromatic truck ads that use the words, “country, tough, history, or outdoors.”

• Soda commercials calling for social change.

• Anything from GoDaddy.com.

• That stupid Verizon Albert Einstein commercial.

Stay Caffeinated,

Coffee & Crypto Team

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DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.